How the Mole Learned to Burrow
A Story of the Tokoloshe by Pieter Scholtz
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| The earth heaved and shook like a ripe volcano ready to burst. Tokoloshe pinched himself to make sure he was not dreaming, but the pinch hurt as only a wakeful Tokoloshe would feel it. He rubbed his hairy arm to soothe the hurt, and then opened his eyes wide as the red earth shuddered and heaved between his legs. |
| He was seated in the shade of his favourite wild-fig tree, with his back against the mossy trunk and his legs splayed out in a wide V in front of him. Through half-closed eyes, he beheld his knobbly toes which protruded from the tufts of long grass like weird little mushrooms, and as he wiggled them, the earthquake had started. |
| A large mound grew between his knees as the earth was pushed upwards by some powerful subterranean force; then the mound parted as a jagged crack opened and out of the fissure in the earth’s crust appeared - Tokoloshe couldn’t believe his eyes - a sharp nose, followed by the sleek golden neck of imfukufuku, the mole. He was named imfukufuku because he had freckles around his throat, as if the spots had been pushed up about his throat in the same way the soil was pushed up when he was tunnelling. |
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Pieter Scholtz, is emeritus Professor of Drama of the University of Natal, Durban, where he headed the drama department for more than ...
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Read more of these spellbinding Tokoloshe stories!
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| Read a review of Tales of the Tokoloshe - Pieter Scholtz's first volume of short stories. |
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| This story is © copyright (2004) by Professor Pieter Scholtz. No part of it may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system or transmitted, in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise, without the prior written permission of the copyright holder. |
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